Astronomy after Oort: Changes in Administrative Culture in Science and the Universities in the 1970s and 1980s

In the early 1970s Dutch universities were reformed, while scientific research was faced with new social and political demands. A decade later science and university policy changed again, with increasing roles for market pressure and competition. These developments might seem opposed, but in this paper David Baneke will argue that in fact there was great continuity, both concerning the backgrounds of the policy and the practical consequences. Their goal was to cope with the rapid increase in scale and the costs of science, to open up closed elitist networks, and to counter inefficiency and arbitrary spending. The pressure to reform came both from policy makers and from within the universities themselves. In all cases the changes resulted in professional management structures and an increase in bureaucracy. In this paper, Baneke will analyse these developments from the perspective of the internationally prominent Dutch astronomical community, which experienced a serious crisis in 1970 in which every part of the disciplinary infrastructure was reconsidered

review of: De rok van het universum

review of: L. Molenaar, De rok van het universum: Marcel Minnaert, astrofysicus 1893-1970 (Amsterdam, Leuven 2003)

review of: Trots en twijfel

review of: F. Saris and R. Visser (eds.), Trots en twijfel: Kopstukken uit de Nederlandse natuurwetenschap van de twintigste eeuw (Amsterdam 2005)

Uit de schaduw van Oort : De Nederlandse astronomische gemeenschap en het wetenschaps-management vanaf de jaren zeventig

In the early 1970s Dutch universities were reformed, while scientific research was faced with new social and political demands. A decade later science and university policy changed again, with increasing roles for market pressure and competition. These developments might seem opposed, but in this paper David Baneke will argue that in fact there was great continuity, both concerning the backgrounds of the policy and the practical consequences. Their goal was to cope with the rapid increase in scale and the costs of science, to open up closed elitist networks, and to counter inefficiency and arbitrary spending. The pressure to reform came both from policy makers and from within the universities themselves. In all cases the changes resulted in professional management structures and an increase in bureaucracy. In this paper, Baneke will analyse these developments from the perspective of the internationally prominent Dutch astronomical community, which experienced a serious crisis in 1970 in which every part of the disciplinary infrastructure was reconsidered